Whiffletree.



E. 0. SGHULTZ.

WHIPPLETREE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. a, 190s.

Patented Nov. 16, 1909.

lill' llitllllt PATENT nenne o. sonoma, or cannon, onto, Assiettes oronomastico n. a. Horn on cannon, onto.`

Specticaton of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov., ttl, itglth Application filed September 8, 1908. SerialNo. 452,047.

To all whom it 'may conceive:

Be it known that I, HENRY O. ScHUL'rz, a citizen of the-United States,residing at Canton, in the county of Stark and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful improvements in i/Vhitiletrees, of whichthe following is a spccification.-

This invention comprehends certain new and useful improvements in draftappliances, relating more particularly to an 1mproved Whillletreeconstruction, and the object of the invention is an iniproveddevice ofthis character which einhodies to a marked degree, the elements ofsimplicity, durahil ity and rigidity, and which is thus particularlyadapted to withstand excessive strain without becoming inisshapen orotherwise injured, the whililetree possessino' certain other advantagesthat will hecoine at once apparent as the invention is hereinafter dis-Closed, over the ordinary whillietree in general use.

lilith these and other objects in view that will more fully appear asthe description proceeds, the invention consists of certainconstructions, arrangements and combinations of the parts that i shallhereinafter fully describe and then point out the novel features thereofin the appended claim.

F ora full understanding' of the invention, reference is to be had tothe following description and accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a plan view of a whifilctree constructed in accordance withmy invention; lfig. S2 is an edge view thereof, partly in section; Fig.3 is a transverse section, and Fig. 4e is a detail View in perspective,showing the ferrule and the end of the whiliietree in juxtaposition.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the samereference characters.

.Zi whiilietree constructed in accordance with my invention comprisestwo compleniental members or sections l which are pref crably formed ofwood or similar material and are arranged longitudinally of each other,as shown, with their ends terminating at corresponding points toconstitute a suit.- ahle har of a length according to the desiredwhiilletree. interposed between these sections i is a. centrallydisposed reinforcing 2 which is designed to hold the whillletree againsttensile or torsional strain and which in' the preferred construction ofthe device is constructed of iron, steel, or the like, the reinforcinghar being rigidly secured hen tween the sections by ineens of rivets orother fastening means 3 passing therethrough. ln the present instancethis b ar is somewhat in the forni of an l beain in cross section and isthickened at its rear edge be ond the adjacent edges of the sections l ya bead or flange et which serves to hold the sections against accidentaldisplacement, it being, course, understood that a similar head may heformed along the front edge of the har if found necessary7 or desirablein practice. The flange fi terminates shortof the ends of thereinforcing har to constitute oppositcly facing shoulders, as best seenin Fig. d, for a purpose to he presently disclosed.

As one ineens for attaching this whiilietree to the vehicle or object towhich the draft is to be applied, a` strao 5 encircles the whif- 1fletree at an intermediate point and has its forward end widened andsecured thereto and preferably bent to coliform to the shape thereof,while the rear end of this strap pro-v jects outwardly beyond thecorresponding edge of the whitiletree and constitutes an attaching eye.G designates two ferrules which substantially incase the opposite endsof'the compound whillletree abutting against the aforementionedshoulders, and which are loosely encircled by rings 7 ot thewhili'letree hooks, said rings being retained in position in anysuitable manner, such as by passing through rearwardly disposed eyes 8formed the rings 7 are formed with the hooks proper 9, which aredesigned for engagement with the trace or tug of the harness of thedraft animal.

F rom the foregoing description in connecti'on with the accompanyingdrawing, it will e apparent that l have provided an im proved compoundwhililetree which may heapplied to carriages or wagons, or otheryehicles with which draft'ap'pliances of this `character may headvantageously employed,

said whiiiletree beiiw simple and durable and comparatively Tightl inconstruction, while at the saine time being susceptible of withstandingconsiderable strain without losing rigidity, and consistingofcoroparatively few parts that may he readily-assembled and easily andcheaply manufactured so on the fcrrules. ln front of the whiftletree, y

' ysp ltting the ordinary-whiietree longitudinally to form th'e twowooden sections and securing the same together wlth a sultableVreinforcing bar' inter osed therebetween.

Having thus descri ed the invention, what 4 is claimed as new is l Asa-new article of manufacture, a whiietree of the character described,comprising complemental wooden sections 1, a flat reinorcmgbar 2 ofsolid metal interposed between and coextensive'with the sections,fastening elements 3 inserted through the complemental sections and thereinforcing bar to secure the parts together, the reinforcing-bar beingformed at one longitudinal edge with an outstanding bead or flange 4arranged beyond and overlappinglthe eripheries of the res ectivesections 1 and terminating short o the ends of the bar to provideoppositely facing shoulders, ferrules 6 carrylng tug-engagin means andmounted terminally on the Whi etree and abutting against theaforementioned shoulders, and' a metallic strap 5 in the form of aclosed loop encirclingfthe whifietree intermediate of the ferrules, thestral conforming with and being fitted to the e ge of the whitiietreeopposite to the flange 4 and being spaced from the other edge of thewhiletree to rovide an attaching eye, all as and for t e purposespecified.

In test1mon whereof I aiiiXmy signature `n presence o two witnesses.

HENRY O. SCHULTZ. [La] Witnesses:

HARVEY F. AKE, SAMUEL AEE.

